The following question was posed to all Walton County Board of Commissioners 2008 Candidates. 
A sampling of their answers was published in
The Walton Tribune, Sunday Edition, July 13, 2008.

Below is the full text of their answers.

Q: What community (or communities) would you recommend Walton County look to as an example of quality growth?  Why?  (You are welcome to choose any Georgia or U.S. city/county/community as an example).

Chairman Kevin Little

A:  When deciding on a community to model ourselves after, I reflected on what makes a community a great place to live. It needs to afford its citizens both a great place to work and play. Meeting the demands of a diverse group of residents requires open communication and teamwork. One town that received national recognition in 2006 for doing just that is Winooski, Vermont.

The Winooski Downtown Redevelopment Project revitalized this small town with new development that respects the city's character and history. The once thriving mill town preserved or restored nearly 100 acres of natural habitat, returned vacant properties to productive use, created several neighborhood parks. In 1999, the city began a public process to mobilize residents for redevelopment of their hometown. Extensive public dialogue produced the plan to revitalize downtown. The revitalization has given Winooski a big economic boost. The redevelopment capitalized on the city's historic charm and once again made Winooski a place people and businesses want to be. The citizens of Winooski now have an attractive downtown with mixed-income housing, stores, restaurants, and other services.

Walton County is rapidly growing and with this comes the necessity of quality growth planning to ensure a balanced mix of commercial, residential and open/recreational area. We must address infrastructure needs by planning and implementing Hard Labor Creek Reservoir, water and sewer expansion, Hwy 138 extension and planning in partnership with the Quality Growth Committee. However during this time of growth, want to ensure we keep our small town feel and continue to tradition of being a great place to live for generations to come.

Commissioner Michael Turner

A:  I would recommend Peachtree City.

Peachtree City seems to have achieved a balance between Commercial and Residential while maintaining the quality of life. 

In order to achieve this success, they had to involve the whole community to develop a plan.  Then they had to have strong leadership to implement the plan. This type of success is the result of a team with a common purpose.

District 2

Chuck Bagley

A:  My first choice would be to look at the area of Blakely/Early County as they are in the early stages of Quality Growth.  This area is combining the history of the past, the beauty and needs of the present while planning a NEW city for the future.  We would learn that much planning and community involvement is necessary for Quality Growth to take place.  Visit Early County 2055 http://earlycounty2055.com/ for their plan.

Quality Growth can only take place when Developers and Builders have options and incentives to make Quality Growth happen.  One such option is SmartCode; http://www.smartcodecomplete.com/index.html.

Focus Groups including Community leaders, Citizens, Bankers, Developers, Builders, Mortgage Companies, Elected Officials, Citizens, Landowners and Government Employees come together to plan what the community will look like in the next 25 to 50 years.  Only when a decision that everyone agrees, supports and accepts ownership in will Quality Growth begin.

When everyone takes ownership in the vision of the future and the Private Sector takes charge with Community Leaders and Developers leading a team approach will all things to work.  As elected officials we need to provide the tools necessary the leaders and the team to bring this vision into reality.  As we look at cities such as Suwanee and Smyrna we realize that Quality Growth is not a dream but an action plan the people who care can make it happen.

Tom Kirby

A:  The first community we must look at is Walton County.  We need to identify what it is that makes us a special place to live, work and play.  What do we do well, what do we want to maintain and what to we want to be as we continue to grow.  As a top priority we need to address public safety.  We must have the people and equipment in place to deliver a level of service that is second to none for all of Walton County.  While there are several communities providing excellent examples of public safety, we want Walton County to be the benchmark for others to follow.  We must attract and retain additional business and industry to lower the tax burden to homeowners.  Governor Perdue's proposed Innovation Crescent for Life Sciences running from Atlanta to Athens has already been compared to The Research Triangle in North Carolina.  We can look to places like Hamilton County Indiana as an excellent example of transportation planning and development.  Their community experienced growth that mirrored our neighbors in Gwinnett County, yet they implemented a plan that allows traffic to flow in and through the county.  We can look at Shelby County Alabama as an area that has developed while maintaining Quality Affordable housing at all economic levels.  We can look to Overland Park, Kansas as a community that has created an excellence in Parks and Recreational areas.  We can look to Lexington, Kentucky and The Bluegrass Region as an example of how to blend Agriculture and Industry with residential development while maintaining the natural beauty of the area.  There are many additional communities that can be used as examples.  Similar to a business implementing best practices to improve their company, we should be looking for those "Best Practices" of growth and development that will work for us.  We should look at what others have done successfully and then analyze if it will work for us and how it can work for us.  Walton County is unique and there is no "one size fits all" solution to quality growth.  We need to emulate not imitate other communities as we grow. One constant is that communities that have successfully had quality growth and development is planning.  We must be dedicated to planning 10 - 20 years ahead.  We cannot be playing catch up and reacting after the fact and expect quality results.  That plan starts with where we began by identifying what it is that makes Walton County the special place to be.  As we ask ourselves the question, "Where will we be, when we get where we are going?" we need to remember We Are Walton County.

District 3

Commissioner Vickie Gasaway

A:  While no one community comes to mind as a perfect example of my vision for Walton County, Suwanee does have some desirable attributes that I believe we may want to follow on a smaller scale.  For example, developing town centers will benefit our County and be especially attractive in light of the economic situation providing convenience in closer locations.  With development of these areas, Waltonians won’t have to spend as much on gas getting to the essentials and recreational needs; it will also provide a stronger local economy by keeping dollars within our County.  However, I want to maintain the charm of our country, rural and agricultural areas, so determining where the density should lie is critical.  I believe that we can have, if planned effectively, the best of both worlds.

Harry P. (Phil) Green

A:  Savannah, GA - Because this city has kept its heritage.

They have mixed the old and the new in a wonderful way.  The streets are beautiful in the spring and fall.  There is something for everyone from the youth to the elderly.  River Street is very diversified with history and entertainment.  There are beautiful parks in the center of town where you can read, walk, or just soak in some sun without having to worry about being mugged.

 

I think Walton County could have a lot of these things through private enterprise.  Instead of spending tax dollars, private enterprise would be bringing revenues into Walton County plus they would bring in activities for all ages.  Look at Lenora Park in Gwinnett County. We need to look at private enterprise for recreation.

 

Ron Smith

 

A:  In response to your question, the first community that comes to mind is Roswell, Georgia.  More especially the Parkway Village Overlay District they have in place.

This type of overlay district is for residential and commercial development along state highways and it calls for rolling hills, landscaping and fencing between the right of way and the building setback.  In addition the buildings are placed on the front building setback with all parking behind the buildings.  The architecture of the buildings are designed to match and keep a historically rural look to them.  It gives the travelers the feeling of driving thru rural area along the highway, but behind the landscaped right of ways are single-family developments and campus style corporate headquarters.  This will discourage the strip mall type of development and create an attractive transition from residential, to office professional, to commercial business.

To encourage this type of development the codes will allow for parking count reductions, buffer and landscape reductions and density requirement can be adjusted.  Basically its a give and take situation.  If the developer is willing to hide the parking, lighting and make the buildings look like they've been there all along, the community is willing to loosen some of the restriction in the code.  It encourages quality development.